Mozambique will be the new home for eight sets of diesel engine units and carriages formerly used by Auckland Transport’s passenger rail operation.
The fleet of passenger trains, as well as spare parts, are currently on a ship headed for the African country where they will provide passenger travel around the capital city, Maputo.
The diesel-powered passenger trains became surplus to requirements after Auckland Transport rolled out its new electric train fleet in 2014.
AT Metro operations group manager Brendon Main says the old trains will get a new life in a part of the world that needs them.
“Selling the trains reduces AT’s costs, as these have been stored in Mount Maunganui since the new electric trains began operating in 2014,” says Main.
Most of the diesel trains retired from the network, except for the ones which currently run between Papakura and Pukekohe.
There are 104 SA/SD carriages and 6 SX carriages left in storage at Taumaranui, and Auckland Transport is entering into a conditional sales agreements for 31 of these.
Main says there is also interest in the remaining 79 carriages.
British Rail built the SA/SD carriages in the early 1970s, then in the mid-1990s they were exported to New Zealand, refurbished and then began operating on Auckland’s rail system.
